Novel protein kinases in pancreatic cell growth and cancer.

The network of enzymes that contribute to the signal transduction of extracellular factors in pancreatic cancer is ever increasing. The classical Raf-MEK-ERK signaling cascade plays a crucial role in the regulation of apoptosis, proliferation, and metastasis of pancreatic cancer. Phosphatidylinositide-3-kinase also contributes to growth and prevents apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells, acting in part via its downstream targets, PKB/AKT and the FRAP/p70s6k signaling complex. Recently, members of the PKC family of serine threonine kinases have emerged as novel modulators of transformation and cell cycle progression of pancreatic cancers. The novel PKD family of serine threonine kinases has just been detected in pancreatic cancer and awaits its functional characterization in these tumors.